Depicted here is a World War I service medal presented to my maternal grandfather, Everett Shearman Carpenter (Feb. 22, 1891 - Jan. 6, 1962).
This medal was presented not by the federal government, but rather by an organization called the "Barryville and New Village Relief Association." Thus far I have not been able to find out more about this organization other than the single hit obtained in a Google search for "Barryville and New Village Relief Association." The single search result is a link to WorthPoint.com where an identical medal is shown as having been sold at auction on December 10, 2006. The auction listing states that Barryville is a town in Sullivan County, New York. It sits on the Delaware River across from Shohola, Pennsylvania, but no information is available from the site about a "New Village." With respect to the medal itself, the site states, "Scarce; this is the only one I have seen."
The reverse side of the medal reads as follows: "Presented to [above a blank engraving scroll] by the Barryville and New Village Relief Association in grateful recognition of his service in the WORLD WAR." In very fine print at the bottom left and right are the words "W. & H. Co." on the left and "Newark, N.J." on the right. My grandfather's medal is in a heavy brown-paper folder that identifies the W. & H. Co. as "The Whitehead & Hoag Co., Newark, N.J. Fine Bronze Medals & Badges."
This medal now presents a bit of a mystery because my grandfather never lived in the state of New York except for the short time he spent at Watervliet Arsenal north of Albany, New York -- which is almost 150 miles northeast of Barryville. This raises the question of why the "Barryville and New Village Relief Association" would present a World War I service medal to someone who was born, raised, lived and died in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
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Photograph of the World War I service medal is from the original medal in the collection of the author.
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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew
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Hmm. That is a mystery. But, it's a wonderful family heirloom. =)
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